


A Tedious Time of the Year for Bachelors

by Peskychloe



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Inspired by 101 Dalmatians, M/M, bokuto and akaashi are dogs, not actual talking dogs though, yuuji and chikara are human beings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2019-01-06 11:06:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12210006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peskychloe/pseuds/Peskychloe
Summary: Film-maker Ennoshita Chikara lives in a batchelor flat in Tokyo, with his Doberman Pinscher Keiji. Bored with the batchelor life, Keiji decides to find a partner for Chikara and a mate for himself. While watching female dog-human pairs, he spots the perfect one, and drags him through the park to arrange a meeting. However, instead they bump into a boisterous pairing, a man named Yuuji and his Siberian Husky Koutarou. Much to Keiji's annoyance, his owner and Yuuji go for lunch and he is thrown into a friendship with Koutarou.





	A Tedious Time of the Year for Bachelors

**Author's Note:**

  * For [glitch_writes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitch_writes/gifts).



> Conversations between the two dogs are in italics, and are non verbal. These aren't talking dogs, but they communicate in a way dogs communicate; expressions and body language. I hope this comes across!
> 
> Story told non-contiguously with four scenes, one each from one characters POV, alternating between dogs and humans.
> 
> -
> 
> This was beta-ed for me by the wonderful [Tsucchi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsucchi/pseuds/Tsucchi) \- please read Connected by them if you like Ennoshita or space.

The day this story begins, not so very long ago, was a beautiful spring day in Tokyo; the perfect day to find a wife.

The old notion that a bachelor’s life was glamorous was nonsense. If it were left to Chikara, they’d be bachelors forever; he was married to his writing.

Keiji had a rough idea of what to look for and if he could only persuade Chikara to take time away from his work, he was sure they’d find someone. He began to scratch at the door.

“What’s wrong? You want a walk already?” Chikara peered at his clock. “I guess we could go to the park.”

Keiji yapped excitedly. Nogawa park would be the perfect place to meet someone, and if they happened to find a nice mate for himself, then all the better.

It didn't take long to get there from their small flat above the salon, and as they had to walk past a supermarket on the way there and back, there was a good chance they'd pick up something tasty for lunch. Keiji hoped it was fish; they hadn't had a nice piece of salmon for a while.

People say you can't feed a dog salmon, but those people obviously hadn't done their research; providing it's cooked correctly, it's perfectly safe, as well as delicious, and it was something the two of them enjoyed, the healthy fatty acids giving them both glossy, black hair.

The first people he lived with hadn't done any research and were, quite frankly, idiots.

Their commands were inconsistent, and Keiji was confused. He was sure it would be possible to be both a threatening guard dog and a loving family dog, eventually, but the mother and father treated him so differently, he would forget which mode he was in, which led to an unfortunate incident.

After that, they didn't want him any more. He overheard heated discussions as they sat in the place-that-must-not-be-named, and even the children whom he was growing fond of eschewed their usual stroking and petting of him. No one wept when they left him behind, and he was led in silence to a whole new place, filled with other dogs no one wanted any more.

Keiji was never sure if he had been lucky they never put a healthy dog down or not; the weeks dragged on, as other, more cuddly looking dogs came and went. Each time a human arrived, he would sit as straight as possible, ears cocked so he looked his most alert. Still, no one had taken him home.

He had heard them talking about how intelligent his breed was, how well they could be trained, how there were actually less fatal attacks on humans by Dobermans than by other dogs with better reputations. None of it was convincing; his breed was experiencing a period of disrepute, and he was bearing the brunt.

He had begun pacing his space, mainly out of boredom, but then even when he was out in the yard, he would pace backwards and forwards in a precise pattern. It kept his brain active, giving some structure to his day, but then the humans started discussing his repetitive actions, and not wanting to give them more ammunition against him, he worked hard to stop himself from doing it.

There was no way for him to know how many days had passed. It had felt like years, but as a dog, he had no concept of time, especially when he'd stopped counting his steps.

Then one day, a dark haired man came to the shelter. Average height, weight, average everything really, in a long, woollen coat.

"I'm looking for a dog," he said, in a quiet, even voice.

"What kind of dog?"

"I don't know, really. I work from home and live alone, now..." He sighed and shook himself. "Really, I guess I'm after company. But I also want a dog who likes walking. To get me out and about."

"How big is your house?"

He paused to think. "Well, it's a one-bed flat above a shop, is that a problem?"

"No, no! I'm wondering what size dog to show you."

"Oh! Well, I don't like small dogs. Something meaty, you know?"

"You have any contact with children?"

He snorted a laugh. "No."

"I might know just the dog for you! He's been here a while, but he's very calm. We don't recommend him around children, though."

Keiji sighed. An undeserved reputation was a hard stigma to shake. He sat up straight, trying to look agreeable. He cursed his breeders for cropping his ears and docking his tail; part of the appeal of a dog to humans seemed to lie in the way they wag their tails or how soft their ears look. Keiji's ears stuck straight up at all times so he looked like he was permanently listening, presumably to emphasise how good a guard dog he could be.

"So this is Cage." She turned to the man standing next to her. "He was named after Nicholas Cage, apparently." She turned back to Keiji and unlocked his kennel.

"What kind of dog is he?"

"A Doberman Pinscher. He's a pedigree, too, from a named breeder. But the people who bought him didn't really know how to look after him."

No shit, thought Keiji. He leaned into her touch as she tickled behind his ear.

"Did he lose his tail, or..."

"No, the breeder does that. It's traditional for Dobermans to have ears and tails like this."

"That's pretty barbaric. Poor thing." The man leaned in to tickle Keiji's other ear and smiled. "He looks so serious until you stroke him. Then he goes all gooey."

"Yeah, Dobermans get a bad name ‘cause of how they look, but they're really loyal and loving."

"Like me."

"Sorry?"

He laughed. "Oh, people think I'm very serious, cause I have, what's it called, resting something."

"Bitch face?" She inhaled and put a hand over her mouth. "Sorry, that sounded very mean."

"It's fine," he said, laughing, "That's exactly the phrase I was looking for." He stroked down Keiji's nose. "You have resting bitch face, too. Well. Dog face, you're a boy right?"

Keiji stood up, wanting to show off his muscular physique. If this man lived alone, he might need a guard dog as much a companion.

"Wow! He's really graceful for such a big dog!"

"Yeah, Dobermans stand on their toes."

Thrumming with pleasure from the compliments, Keiji had moved towards the humans with every ounce of grace within his strong frame before butting his head into the man's hand.

"You want to come home with me... Cage? Hmm, we'd have to change that name though."

"Don't change it too much, he's used to that."

"I'm not a big fan of Nicholas Cage, that's all. He was in The Wicker Man remake, that was unforgivable. ‘The bees!’ Urgh, no, just no."

The shelter worker did her best to not look confused, but didn't quite manage it. "O...kay...."

"What about Cagey? Oh, we can spell it K-E-I-J-I! That's one of my uncle's names, I think? Some relative anyway. Keiji? Does that work for you, fella?"

Keiji hadn’t understood much of what he said, but he preferred Keiji; it sounded much friendlier than Cage, which reminded him of where he'd been living for the last few weeks. He didn't bark much; he was already concerned by people thinking him aggressive, but he found it impossible to keep in a joyful bark at the thought of going home with this man.

"I'll take that as a yes. Well, I'm Chikara, and I think you're going to come and live with me. I just need to go and sort out this paperwork, okay?"

He didn't dare hope that this was going to come true; the whole time Chikara and the woman were gone, he expected them not to come back.

But then they did, and Chikara slipped a shiny green collar and lead onto him, and had been by his side ever since.

Keiji looked up at Chikara as they went through the park entrance. Of course, he didn't know what Chikara's life had been like before, but he liked to think his presence had improved it somehow. He was smiling now, as they walked along, his hair bouncing in time with his steps.

"Nice day, Keiji," he said, "I love these crisp spring mornings, don't you?"

He could feel the fallen leaves squelch beneath his paws, and had to agree with his owner. The ground in the winter had frozen the pads of his paws, and once summer rolled in, the pavement would be too hot for them. This in-between weather was perfect, and he was looking forward to being let off his lead for a good run on the dewy grass.

The park was a favourite with dog owners due to the large central expanse of grass, far enough away from the road that it was safe to let off even the wildest of dogs. It wasn't usually that busy during the day when he and Chikara took their usual stroll; most people were at work, children were at school, and the only other people they saw were perhaps self-employed like Chikara, or much older and probably retired.

"Quite busy today, though, eh?" He let the lead out a little bit, and Keiji scampered ahead, searching among the throng of dogs.

The usual cocky Dalmatian was there, ignoring his owner as always, a tall man with glasses chasing after him yelling his name. Further on, a miniature Schnauzer being walked by a woman chatting on her phone, cackling loudly. To the left, he looked to check the bench, and there was the old lady feeding some bread to the birds, a tiny Chihuahua seated with his paws in her lap. Finally, he spotted what he was looking for and ran a circle around Chikara with excitement.

Good, he thought, they’re here again..

"Here? Okay," he said, unclipping the lead. "Don't go too far, though!"

Keiji didn't plan to even leave the picnic area, at least not unless the elegant Doberman bitch and her equally glamorous owner did. He spotted half a sandwich still in the packaging, and she was still reading, so hopefully he had enough time.

He hadn't even been looking for a wife for Chikara, not the first time he saw them; once he caught the unmistakable scent of another Doberman, and a female at that, it made sense to check if the owner would be a good match for his.

The woman on the other end of the lead was tall, maybe even taller than Chikara, with large clear eyes, dark hair, and a huge hooded coat. She smiled at her dog constantly as they walked, chatting to her, until they reached the benches, where she would take out her lunch and a book. As well as both adoring their dogs, they seemed to have similar hobbies, and looked to be physically well matched; that was the most important things in human relationships, as far as he could tell from his time with the other family, anyway.

Keiji already had a few possible plans, things he’d thought about while Chikara was working and he sat at his feet. He’d been trying to narrow them down by playing through them all in his mind. There were some troublesome outcomes, but generally nothing worse than the two of them not hitting it off and never talking again.

Today, the female human's lack of concentration was begging to be exploited. Keiji took his chance, and launched himself at the table in an attempt to grab her sandwich.

"Keiji!" Chikara shouted, running after him without paying much attention to his surroundings.

He slammed straight into the side of a man talking on his phone, knocking him to the ground.

"Shit! Watch where you're going!" He looked up at Chikara from the floor, and tutted. "I am such a fucking manga trope."

"Oh gods, I'm so sorry!" Chikara put his hand out to the man to help him up off the floor; at the same moment, a large grey and white dog bounded over, planting his enormous front paws on the man's chest pushing him back down, sniffing at his face in concern.

"Kou, get off!" He pushed him away carefully, before taking Chikara's hand and allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. Once upright, he ruffled the dog's fur. "I'm fine, you mutt."

Keiji walked over to the rumpus, so ashamed his tail would have been between his legs if he still had one.

The other man went to brush down his clothing, and realised halfway through brushing down his pants that they were still holding hands. Chikara dropped it, allowing him to continue his grooming, and looked down at Keiji. He must have still been embarrassed about knocking someone over, as his face was flushed pink; Keiji looked over at the other man, and he was pink too, probably embarrassed about running into Chikara in the first place.

He stopped the brushing, but his sleeveless top and jersey pants didn’t seem much cleaner; they looked as if they were scruffy long before he fell on the floor anyway. He had two-tone hair, a bit like his dog's, and was still clutching his phone, a voice coming from the speaker.

He seemed to realise the other party was still on the line, and shouted at his phone, "Yeah, yeah, I fell over. I’ll call you back," before hanging up.

"Are you okay? I'm really sorry, I was following my dog, didn't see you. Keiji! Get over here!"

Keiji slunk out from behind Chikara's legs, ready to face the music. The grey dog was staring at him, head cocked to the side.

 _"What are you?"_ he asked.

_"I'm sorry?"_

_"I've never seen a dog without a tail. Where is it?"_ He started walking around Keiji, looking at his rump with interest.

 _"It's rude to ask strangers such personal questions,"_ he said, moving away so they were still nose to nose. There was no way this strange dog was getting anywhere near his private areas.

"I'm fine, no worries. Hey! Beautiful dog! What kind?" He leaned down and stroked Keiji. "Nice coat."

"Thank you, Keiji's a Doberman. And..." He gestured towards the grey dog, "Husky?"

The other man nodded. "Yeah, he's called Koutarou. Kou for short."

_"A Doberman? So, are all Dobermans tail-less?"_

_"All the ones I know are. And you're a Husky?"_

_"Yes! We all have these tails. Nice, right?"_ He turned and shook his behind to show off his curled tail.

 _"It's... amenable."_ Keiji didn't really know what constituted a good or bad tail, but it was kind of pretty.

"How old is he?" Chikara had noticed the curling tail, and was stroking it with curiosity.

"About one, I think. Dunno really... Found him abandoned near work, vet thinks someone had puppies, and he was the runt."

"That's awful! I got Keiji after he went to a shelter for... something. I'd rather not say, it wasn't his fault."

 _"What'd you do?"_ Koutarou was asking.

_"Why would I tell you?"_

He peered at him closely. _"D'ya kill somethin'?"_

 _"No!"_ He was already irritated by this curious dog. _"What's a runt?"_

He looked as annoyed as Keiji as he said, _"Why would_ _ **I**_ _tell_ _ **you**_ _?"_

The other man was still smiling at Chikara fondly. "That's so sweet. You always give everyone a second chance?"

"I try to. I know I’d like a second chance if I did something stupid." He smiled back, and Keiji thought he noticed a glint in his eye. "I should take you out for coffee. Just to say sorry, of course."

"That's true! I could have been carrying a coffee. I could have spilt it everywhere!" He raised an eyebrow at Chikara. "Shall we pretend I did?"

"That would mean I have to replace it?"

"Yep! There's a place over there with outside tables. Could go now, if you like?" He held his hand out. "Name's Yuuji, by the way."

"Chikara," he said, shaking his hand again. Honestly, Keiji would never understand the obsession humans had for touching their hands. Maybe it was because they had thumbs.

Keiji checked over at the sandwich woman again, but she'd already finished and was calling over her dog to have her lead back on. He sighed and started following his owner and their new companions.

 _"Can you jump? I can jump really high, look!"_ Koutarou jumped about two feet in the air, and looked back waiting for an opinion.

_"That's very good, but I wouldn't call it really high."_

_"I can do better! Watch me! Are you looking?"_ He jumped again, barely getting any higher.

Yuuji turned and raised his voice. "Kou! Stop it! Walk properly please, don't embarrass me in front of the nice man."

"Nice man?" Chikara said, looking sideways under his lashes.

"Yeah, even though you knocked me over, you seem pretty nice."

Chikara looked down, pink dusting his cheeks, as they carried on walking.

_"Did you see, Keiji? That one was higher. I could do it again, if you missed it."_

_"I think your human wants you to walk like a normal dog. I think you should take some time to calm down."_

_"Oh. Okay."_ He thought for a minute. _"So can Dobermans not jump?"_

 _"I can jump. I just don't choose to do it when my owner wants me to walk with him."_ If Keiji was being honest, he didn't know if he could jump at all. He'd never really tried, there had been no reason to.

_"You'll have to show me one day. Not now, though. We're behaving now, aren't we?"_

_"Yes, we are, Koutarou-san."_

_"Why are you calling me that?"_

_"It's polite."_

_"But you're not Japanese."_

Keiji slowed down and looked at him. _"What do you mean? Of course I'm Japanese."_

_"Just because we live here, doesn't mean we are, ya know. I'm not Japanese."_

_"What are you then?"_

He fluffed his coat with pride and stopped walking. _"I'm Siberian."_

_"That's not...just because...Koutarou-san, that's your breed, not your nationality."_

_"But..."_

_"Can you speak Siberian?"_

_"There's no such language, Keiji. They speak Russian in Siberia."_ He nodded with smug importance.

_"Can you speak Russian, then?"_

His silence spoke volumes. Keiji continued walking, leaving Koutarou staring after him, no longer smug. Yuuji gently pulled on his lead to encourage him to move, and he sulkily followed.

_"Well... that doesn't...You're mean."_

_"I'm not mean. I_ am _Japanese though."_

_"Well, where are you from originally though? Like where are your ancestors from?"_

_"My breed is German."_

Koutarou looked excited, forgetting he was meant to be in a mood with the other dog. _"Wow! Do you speak German? Auf Weidersehen!"_

Keiji merely sighed, and tried to listen to what Chikara and Yuuji were talking about instead, but it was boring, human stuff about where to buy hot drinks.

He looked at Koutarou again, who was back to smiling. He'd spent time with other dogs in the shelter, but they'd all been miserable in there, and not really interested in making friends. Why bother getting to know someone who has either an adoption or a death sentence on their horizon?

He'd never met another dog like this over-excitable Husky though, doing and saying whatever he wanted, when he wanted to. Was his owner not good at training him?

He took a look at Yuuji; he looked young, with some piercings, and the blonde hair was definitely not natural. Also, was he wearing flip-flops? In a park full of wet grass, and possibly dog waste? He spoke much louder than Chikara, laughing regularly, and waving his arms around, even the one holding Koutarou's lead.

Not that Koutarou seemed to mind. He was continually moving his head as well, looking at everything, tongue lolling from the corner of his mouth. Getting sidetracked seemed to be a huge problem, with Yuuji often turning and checking on him when he stopped walking to talk about something he'd seen.

 _"Keiji! Look! Can you see that bird? Oh! Someone dropped their rice crackers, I love those! Have you tried them? What food do ya like? Keiji? Can you do this?"_ He turned in a circle, trying to catch his tail. _"Oh, sorry, I forgot. You don't have a tail."_

_"Even if I did, I wouldn't do that. Look, we're here."_

They'd arrived at the cafe, and the two men found a table outside. Chikara hung his jacket on the back of the chair, retrieving his wallet. "I'll go and get drinks. You want anything else?”

"Well, now you mention it,” Yuuji said, leaning back on his chair with his hands clasped behind his head, “I'm kind of hungry. Fancy staying for lunch?" He looked up, with an encouraging grin. "We're having such a good chat, it doesn’t have to end."

Keiji's ears pricked up. How disappointing. If Chikara had lunch out, he'd be stuck eating tinned dog food for his own.

"That, yeah, I agree. That'd be good." He was blushing again, and Keiji was confused, as well as mournful at not getting any salmon.

The two of them discussed what to eat, Yuuji demanding to pay his share, the whole time Koutarou trying to get comfortable under the table. Each time he flopped to the floor, he got up again after a few seconds, and moved himself with a huff.

After the sixth time, Keiji couldn't bear it any more. _"What_ are _you doing?"_

_"This floor is uncomfortable."_

_"It's only the pavement. We won't be here that long."_

_"How do you know?"_

_"They're just eating lunch."_

_"Oh, I think we both know it's more than that, my new friend."_ Koutarou sat up straight, and looked between the two men as they decided on what to eat. They were discussing sharing some side orders. _"This is how it starts. I can tell."_

_"How what starts?"_

Before he could answer, Chikara started walking inside, Yuuji watching him. Once out of sight, he looked down at Koutarou. "What a stroke of luck, eh?"

Koutarou nuzzled Yuuji's hand, and let out a little howl.

_"What was that?"_

_"What?"_

_"That's not a bark!"_

_"That's my bark. I'm like an amazing wolf!"_

_"Listen! This is a bark!"_ Keiji barked loudly, causing the people on the next table to jump slightly.

"Hey, Keiji! It's okay! Chikara's only gone for a minute. You're safe with me." He leant down and ruffled his ears, earning an unimpressed glare. "I hope we get to spend more time getting to know each other. I think your owner is damn special."

Keiji's ears pricked up again. _"What does your human mean?"_

_"I told you! This is how it starts. Hasn't your human ever had a mate?"_

He shook his head. _"Not since I've known him. But yours isn't a female. He can't be trying to mate with mine."_

Koutarou laughed. _"I'm not sure mine cares whether they're male or female."_

_"But what's the point of mating without a female?"_

Koutarou looked confused. _"Is there a point to mating? Isn't it for fun? It seems like fun."_

Keiji's expression was a mixture of utter horror and disbelief. He wasn't sure where to start. _"Mating is for procreation!"_

_"For animals, yeah! Well, mostly, anyway. But not humans. They do what feels good."_

_"You don't watch them mating, do you?"_

_"No! I mean, the other bits. Talking, you know. Laughing. Cuddling on the sofa. Stuff I like doing! Don't you like cuddling, just for fun?"_

_"I've never really cuddled anyone."_ There was a sadness in his voice he hadn't expected to hear.

_"Your human doesn't cuddle you?"_

He thought for a minute. Chikara had tried once to put his arms around him, but he'd been unsure what was going on, and flinched. He hadn't tried it since. Keiji assumed it wasn't something a dog and their owner did. _"He strokes me?"_

_"You don't sleep on his bed?"_

_"No. Do you sleep on Yuuji’s?"_

He jumped up onto all fours, and let out a small howl of surprise. _"Every night! Unless he has a mate over, and then I stay well out of the way. It's really nice sharing body warmth."_

 _"Oh."_ The sadness was growing, so Keiji put his head on his legs as they were crossed in front of him.

Koutarou padded over gingerly, and butted his head gently on Keiji's. _"Hey! You want to try? Just friendly-like?"_

_"Try what?"_

_"I could give you a little cuddle. No strings."_

Keiji lifted his head, and looked at the hopeful face of the Husky. His eyes really were strange, completely icy blue, with a tiny pin prick pupil in the centre. Even though he could be annoying, he was friendly and enthusiastic, and most importantly, the first dog who had spoken to him without being scared.

His fur was so different from his own, it looked so soft. Maybe it would be nice to push his snout into, he'd never know if he didn't try.

_"Perhaps a short one."_

Koutarou looked ecstatic, and walked even closer, before flopping heavily onto his stomach, and resting his head on top of Keiji's. _"Is this Okay?"_

_"It's a little restrictive, Koutarou-san. Could you move slightly?"_

Koutarou moved to rest his head higher on his neck, and placed one of his front paws over Keiji's. Now that he could move his head, Keiji felt much more comfortable. Pleasant even. He sighed and closed his eyes.

"Have you seen our dogs?" Yuuji asked Chikara as he walked back to the table with their lunch.

"What the hell? He's never even let me hug him before!"

"Of course, you know what this means? If our dogs are friends, we're going to have to spend a lot more time together."

Keiji's eyes flicked open long enough to see Yuuji's hand reach across the table as he said this, before he closed them again. That was three hand touches now. Ridiculous.

_"I told you, Keiji, this is just the start."_

  
  


–

  
  


Yuuji cursed himself for not wearing nicer clothes to walk Koutarou. There was nothing especially wrong with his work out clothing, it was more or less clean at least, but the lack of real shoes was a huge mistake.

Of all the times to not change out of his flip flops, it had to be the day when he saw Ennoshita fucking Chikara.

"Shit! Kou, look!" He tried to draw his dog's attention away from the food packaging he'd found near the bin. He cursed everyone who couldn't be bothered to throw away rubbish properly, those people were the bane of his life.

Having a dog like Koutarou was challenging. His attention span was short, his curiosity for everything was too great, and even going to regular training groups wasn't helping in the slightest. He wasn't destructive, or vicious, so in the end, he let him get on with things in his own way, and it turned out to be the right choice. As long as he had his owner, his owner's loving and energetic friends, and the other dogs he met at his group, he was happy, and that's all Yuuji ever wanted for him.

Luckily, Yuuji had a roommate, an old school friend called Tsucchi, or he'd probably never be able to work again. Their shifts hardly ever overlapped, so Koutarou was never left alone. Tsucchi was reliable, and always managed to catch Koutarou if he got away. Yuuji gave him a discount on his rent for helping him out so much, and the two of them benefited from shared bills and company when they both wanted it.

Even if they were both out at the same time, there was always Hana or Runa, or even old Anabara-san; everyone in the building was happy to watch Koutarou, as long as it wasn't for too long.

According to Tsucchi, Koutarou spent most of the time Yuuji was at work sleeping, which was to be expected. Koutarou didn't love anyone else as much as Yuuji, and as well as wearing himself out jumping around all day, he was without his owner until late into the evenings. It was a consequence of a job in a restaurant.

To begin with, he'd hated starting work at five in the evening, but once he got used to it, it wasn't so bad. Plus, he never would have found Koutarou in a dumpster outside the restaurant if he didn't work there until late at night, or he might have found his lifeless body the next day. He'd been so cold and small, scared and huddled into a corner. What kind of monster could abandon any dog, let alone a puppy?

As soon as he saw him, he knew he was doomed, so he gave in immediately, and took him straight to the vet until they found the owners. Everyone else who worked at the restaurant made fun of him.

"You're such a manga trope!" Bobata laughed.

"Hardly!"

"Yes you are! Bad boy finds stray animal, takes him home. What's the betting the owner is some beautiful blue-eyed woman, and everything goes pink and sparkly when you meet her?"

Yuuji carried on oiling his corkscrew. "I’d never be interested in anyone who could leave a dog to die."

"Not even if they're good-looking?"

"Never." He nudged him away from the sink to rinse off the oil. "Anyway, what d’ya mean ‘bad boy’? I'm a fucking sommelier."

"With a tongue piercing. Who says ‘fuck’." Bobata wrapped his apron ties around his waist, knotting them at the front. "A rock 'n' roll sommelier."

Yuuji merely tutted, and made sure all his other tools were clean and orderly, before smoothing back his dark hair with wax.

"Hey, have you heard?" Bobata said, as he tied on his do-rag. "We've got a celebrity in tonight? Narahashi Yoko."

"Who?"

"Film producer. Big one apparently. Worked on that Geisha film."

"Oh, right. I'll be sure to tell her about all the most expensive wines then." He pulled at his yellow bow-tie, and touched Bobata's arm. "This straight?"

Bobata nodded. "Let's go through the specials, so you know what wines to get ready."

As one of the hottest restaurants in Tokyo, they often had celebrity guests, rarely anyone he recognised. There had been a model he vaguely recognised once, but only because of her billboards being all over town. She had been rude and dismissive of him, asking for their most expensive champagne, so he'd given her a bottle of corked wine with club soda in it. Although she hadn't noticed, his boss certainly had, and he'd been on probation for a month. That was the last time he didn't take his job seriously.

He went out onto the restaurant floor, armed with knowledge about the food Bobata had prepared, and made his way to the cellar to grab a bottle of Penfolds so he could aerate it. It would go perfectly with the Kamo Rosu; Shiraz and duck was a classic combination.

As he walked past the maître d', he checked the floor plan so he would know where Narahashi would be sitting; they'd given her the best table, she really must be important. Her booking was listed as 'plus one', so he was curious to know if it would be a date or a business meeting.

A couple of hours later, and the restaurant was filling up. He'd had to open a second bottle of the red wine already, the pairing he'd come up with was so popular. As he was explaining the intricacies of the wine to a haughty businessman, he heard a hubbub behind him, and turned to see a well-dressed woman with grey hair being greeted at the podium.

Behind her stood a young man with dark hair, about the same age as Yuuji, wearing a grey suit and nervously wringing his hands. Too young for a date, he supposed, and even from a distance, he could see beads of sweat glistening on his brow. Definitely a business meeting.

They were closer now, and he realised he recognised the man.

The businessman at his table sounded impatient as he said, "You were saying?"

"Sorry, I was distracted by our special guest for the evening. Not that you're not also special, of course." He bowed an apology, and carried on telling him about the wine.

Once his table was pacified, he made his way to talk to Futamata, the maître d'. "Isn't that Ennoshita Chikara?"

"Who's that?" Futamata asked, peering to where Yuuji pointed, surreptitiously.

"You know, writes films. Crow's Angels? Not a great one, some of the others are much better. There's a pretty good one about street fighters."

"Wow, sounds like you're a big fan."

Yuuji looked back at Futamata, with a shake of his head. "Nah, it's not that so much. We both used to play volleyball in school. Kept an eye on his career, ya know?"

"You're not going to get all star struck when you go over then?"

"Shut up, Haru," he said, walking off to their table in a huff.

He'd timed his appearance just right; they'd both finished ordering food, and were looking through the wine list.

He bowed low at the table, before saying, "Would you allow me to help you choose your wine for the evening?"

"That would be lovely. I'm not sure what to have with the food we've ordered. I usually eat a lot of fish, but the duck sounded so exquisite, I had to try it."

He turned to face her companion, and it was definitely Ennoshita. "And you, sir, what did you order."

"Oh, urm, I got the same."

"In that case, might I suggest a very special Shiraz I've been preparing this evening. It's been breathing for about sixty minutes, it should be perfect drinking temperature now." He pointed it out on the wine list as Narahashi was still looking at it. "The Penfolds Bin 150 will go perfectly with the duck dish Chef Bobata has created. The food is simple, using the very best ingredients, and this wine is the same. The Barossa Valley in Australia is the pinnacle of Shiraz growing, and Penfolds are the masters of their craft."

"That sounds perfect, thank you. I'll have a glass of that," Narahashi said with a smile.

He turned to Ennoshita, who was still looking at the wine list, a confused expression on his face. "Would you like a carafe so you may share, sir?"

"What does it taste like?"

"Well, first you'll get a hit of jammy fruits, which is incredible with the strong flavours of the duck. The Bin 150 in particular has a lot of plum, but with a subtle hint of pear. As the wine mellows in your mouth, you'll taste more curious things; liquorice, cloves, polished leather. Sometimes, I can even taste sweet, buttered popcorn."

"Popcorn?" Ennoshita said, indignant.

"Yes! Or a cinnamon bun, sometimes, depends on how long it's been breathing..."

"So would you drink it _with_ popcorn?" His tone was snarky, almost unkind.

Yuuji decided to stick to being courteous. "Actually, it would depend entirely on the popcorn. For plain buttered popcorn, you need a Chardonnay, or maybe a Cava? But if it was wasabi flavoured, for example, I'd choose a crisp Riesling." He smiled at him, hoping he didn't look too smug, just in case he wasn't being as much of a dick as he thought.

"I didn't expect you to have an actual answer," he said, quietly.

"Well, there's a wine for every food, after all, and a food for every wine. Sometimes it's an unexpected courtship, but it works out in the end." He clasped his hands together. "So, carafe of Shiraz for two?"

Ennoshita nodded, and he went off to fetch their wine. As he passed Futamata, he caught his eye and mouthed, "What a twat."

The rest of the evening, he avoided their table whenever possible. They had water on the table as well as wine, so he didn't even have to get them a refill, and at the end of their meal, they ordered only tea. He breathed a sigh of relief at not having to recommend a wine for dessert, and pointedly walked in the other direction when he saw them standing up to leave

Futamata waved him over after they'd gone. "What happened?"

He held up two fingers as he said, "Type 2."

"Oh, I see." He and Futamata had a code for certain types of customers. Type 2 customers were the ones who thought wine descriptions were ridiculous, and made fun of him. They were his least favourite, although Futamata had a particular dislike for Type 8 (the ones who would try and bribe him for a table when they hadn't got a booking).

"Shame. Was always proud we were the same age, knew the same people, ya know? Someone like him from a small town doing well. Too bad it's gone to his head."

Futamata coughed, and pointed over his shoulder.

Yuuji turned around to see Ennoshita standing there, hands clasped in front of him.

"I came back to apologise." He bowed to Yuuji. "If you can take a moment, please allow me to buy you a drink to say sorry."

"Not necessary," he snapped, before turning back again.

"I was so nervous. That woman was meeting me to discuss me working with her. She's a huge deal, and I was feeling like a very small fry playing too close to the fire. I didn't mean to belittle your passion. Please, would you recommend a wine so we can have a glass together?"

Yuuji narrowed his eyes at him, searching for sarcasm. "I appreciate the gesture, but I'm still working for a few hours I can't stop."

Ennoshita straightened back up, with a smile bordering on pleading. "I'm having a really bad month. Not that that's an excuse. I'm not usually such a turd, I'm tired and sad and...Listen to me, you don't need to know this."

Yuuji took pity on him. "Okay, I accept the apology. But I still can't leave work."

"As long as you're not offended." Ennoshita finally smiled when Yuuji shook his head. "I don't want to seem like I've forgotten my roots. I'm proud of my humble beginnings." He rolled his eyes. "Listen to me, I'm not even famous. I'm not Michael fucking Bay, am I?"

He smiled back at him. "No. You're Ennoshita fucking Chikara."

They both laughed, Yuuji noting how pleasantly low-pitched it was. "I can't tell you how flattered I am you even recognised me. I felt even worse when I overheard you, and you knew who I was all that time."

"Well, our schools played each other sometimes. Recognised your name from Karasuno when I saw the reviews. Can't remember if we ever played each other."

"Me neither." He looked genuinely apologetic as he said, "Sorry. I don't have much memory for anything useful."

"Perhaps our paths will cross again in future, and you can get me that glass of wine."

"Perhaps." He bowed a final time, and walked out of the door.

That was over a year ago.

Now their paths were literally crossing again, the two pavements they were walking on with their dogs intersecting at a picnic area in the middle of his local park. He didn't even know Ennoshita lived in Tokyo, let alone close enough to walk his dog in the same park.

Just then his phone rang; he slipped it out of his pocket, and saw Futamata's name flashing across the screen. He answered, and carried on walking.

"Dude, I can't believe it! You'll never guess who I can see."

"Who?"

"Ennoshita Chikara. Remember? That film director who wanted to buy me a glass of wine."

"In your park?"

"Yeah! Only walking his bloody dog."

"You should say hello. Get that glass of wine with him!"

"Nah, he won't remember me. Head too far up his own arse."

"Remind him then! Go get some! It's been a while."

He grumbled into the phone. "Not that long."

"Look, you have to move on, Yuuji. It's been months since Daichi..."

He wasn't really listening, and because he was trying to stop Koutarou digging through a bin, he hadn't really noticed where he was walking either.

He collided head on with the object of his conversation, cursing his carelessness; but then he saw Ennoshita, and the words Bobata had spoken to him a year ago echoed through his head.

"I am such a fucking manga trope," he said out loud, as Ennoshita extended a hand.

  
  


–

  
  


It was much more comfortable lying on Keiji than the pavement beneath the table. His coat was a little scratchy, but still softer than concrete. Koutarou was surprised he'd been allowed to touch him, let alone rest his head and legs on him. He seemed to be tightly wound, but maybe he was starting to loosen him up.

Koutarou tried to start up another conversation. _"Hey, you never answered."_

_"Which question, Koutarou-san?"_

_"What food do you like?"_

Keiji opened his eyes, and moved his head out from under Koutarou's chin. _"I enjoy salmon, but not every day. Usually it's just tinned food."_

_"Which flavour, though?"_

_"Whatever Chikara gives to me."_

Koutarou looked up at Keiji's owner. He was much quieter than Yuuji; he couldn't imagine him throwing a frisbee or anything. Koutarou's favourite toy was his frisbee, cause he had to jump at the right time to catch it. It was one of the things he did really well, and Yuuji would tell him every time what a good boy he was.

_"Doesn't he tell you what flavour it is?"_

_"Why would he do that?"_

Koutarou tilted his head. Yuuji told him the flavour of his food every single time, always told him what he was eating himself, and would usually tell Koutarou he'd prefer to eat the meaty chunks than the food he ate to keep himself in good health.

_"So. No cuddling or chatting? What do you do?"_

_"We sit and enjoy each other's company. In our own personal space. Usually in silence, but often with music."_

_"That sounds a bit boring."_ He stretched, and rolled away onto his side. Yuuji took the hint, and broke off his conversation to rub Koutarou's belly with his foot, which was now bare.

Keiji looked with disgust at the discarded flip flops. _"What does your human do?"_

_"When?"_

_"For work."_

_"I don't know. He goes out every night for a while, and I'm asleep when he comes home."_

Keiji shifted back closer to Koutarou, resting his chin against his back. He was glad his new friend liked cuddling; it was one of his favourite things in the world, there could never be enough people or animals who liked regular hugs. _"That's one thing Chikara and I do. He talks to me about his job."_

_"What does he do?"_

_"He writes stories. He tells me about it as it goes along. Sometimes they make them into films, and then we watch them together on television, and he talks about the bits he likes."_

_"That sounds cool! Hey, you know what would be real nice? If you cuddled up on him as well."_

Keiji looked thoughtful, and crossed his front paws. _"Yes, I think you might be right. I may try cuddling next time. Thank you for the suggestion."_

_"You know, maybe Yuuji and I will come watch a film with you! We've done that with friends before. We used to go over to Daichi's house, but not for a while."_

_"Who's Daichi?"_

Koutarou hadn't thought about Daichi for a long time. It seemed like a huge amount of days, probably eight thousand, since he'd last been to visit, and he wondered whether he'd ever see him again. Sometimes people came into their life and stayed, and other times they were only there for a short while. He could never work out the exact formula, but there was some connection with the guests he wasn't allowed in the bedroom with when they slept over.

Daichi was kind, and gave him treats when he visited. He'd always wanted a dog of his own, but didn't have a job that meant it was possible, so Koutarou had an extra owner for a while. The three of them would cuddle on the sofa together; other friends never let him join in. Usually they'd complain about being covered in dog hairs, as if they'd expected porcupine quills instead.

Come to think of it, Yuuji hadn't been himself since they last saw Daichi. He'd spent even more time than usual curled up on the settee, watching old films. Koutarou liked the black and white films, but he didn't like seeing Yuuji crying.

_"We used to be friends with Daichi, but I haven’t played with him in ages. He was fun! He didn't have a nice dog like you, though. I hope Yuuji becomes friends with Chikara. So I can see you more."_

Keiji looked shy. _"You said I was mean before."_

_"I don't think you're mean anymore. We can be friends now, right?"_

_"It's a bit soon for friends. Acquaintances, perhaps."_

_"Can aqua-tances cuddle?"_

Keiji moved closer still, putting his nose under where Koutarou's leg joined his body. _"Yes, they can."_

 _"Good."_ Keiji closed his eyes again, so Koutarou joined him. The silence was nicer than he expected, and even though some of the conversation drifted down to them, he couldn't hear much except Keiji breathing.

_"What's your favourite food, Koutarou-san?"_

_"Well, I like rice crackers, but I'm not s'posed to eat them. The tinned food I like most is chicken."_

_"Hmm, I like chicken, too. Sometimes we have that."_ He looked up at Koutarou. _"When you come round, maybe we'll all have chicken."_

This day was turning out to be one of the best days ever. First, a walk to the big park, where they didn't go all that often, then he'd seen a squirrel, and now he'd made a new friend. His life was really incredible, when he stopped to look at it.

He'd known Yuuji as long as he could remember, and he was the most wonderful human being in the whole world. There was no one better than Yuuji. They loved each other so much; he was Yuuji's best boy, he was always telling him so. But there was plenty of love to go around and be shared by new friends, especially if they were like Keiji and Chikara.

Maybe if they became really good friends, he'd get to hear these stories Chikara wrote.

_"What's Chikara's story? Can you tell me it?"_

_"Let me see. It's set in a restaurant. A man is rude to one of the waiters. A certain kind of waiter."_ He paused for so long, Koutarou lifted his head to check if he was alright. _"I can't remember the name. But they look after the wine."_

_"What's wine?"_

_"It's a drink humans have on special occasions. Anyway, this waiter loves wine, and he's very passionate about it."_

_"Then what?"_ Koutarou shuffled closer, so Keiji softened his voice to compensate.

_"There's a terrible customer, a man about the same age. He's very rude to the waiter. But there's a reason, so he explains, and takes the waiter out for a drink to say sorry. And they fall in love"_

_"What's the reason for being rude?"_

_"I can't remember that bit. Chikara changes his mind a lot. The waiter is a female at the moment, but at one point it was a male. The rude customer has been a woman as well. But the one constant is they go for a drink and fall in love."_

Koutarou looked up at his owner, and then at Chikara, and as some understanding ambled its way to his brain, he stood up on all four legs, letting Keiji slip onto the floor.

 _"Keiji!"_ He howled again, causing Yuuji to nudge him with his foot.

Keiji was already shocked at being dropped, and now he jumped with surprise at the volume. _"What's wrong?"_

_"Chikara and Yuuji! Like the story!"_

Keiji stood up to see their hands clasped on the tabletop, and then looked under it to see Yuuji's foot was pressing onto Chikara's leg instead of Koutarou's tummy.

_"I'm not sure if they're in love, exactly."_

_"Are they aqua-tances as well? Like us?"_

_"I think perhaps they're beyond that point. You might be right though." He looked at Koutarou. "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."_

_"Aw, that's nice. My name isn't Louis though."_

Koutarou sighed, settling back into a pile of furry legs with Keiji; he thought about what a smart new friend he had, even if he'd forgotten his name.

  
  


–

  
  


"If our dogs are friends, we're going to have to spend a lot more time together," Yuuji said, eyebrows raising. There was something so familiar about him, and yet Chikara couldn't put a finger on what it was.

A hand crept towards him across the table, and he resisted, for a few seconds, before grasping it with his own.

"We could arrange a play-date for the dogs?" Chikara suggested.

"Just the dogs? What about _our_ play-date?"

Chikara tried not to blush and stutter, but Yuuji was charming, and it was proving difficult. No one had lavished him with their full attention in a while, and the feeling was heady.

It was hard to rid himself of the niggle in the back of his mind; he would simply have to try harder. He no longer lived with Ryuu, he had his flat, he had his dog, and he had thrown himself into his work from the day he moved out.

Could you refer to it as moved out if you were asked to leave?

He should have known from the minute he met him in high school that there was absolutely no future to be had, and he must be avoided at all costs. But like an idiot, he'd become his best friend, and then gone to the same university, and finally shared a flat. They were partners of a sort, and he felt like he could maybe have just this, forever.

If it hadn't been for the fact Ryuu was straight and kept bringing women home anyway.

Apparently though, getting drunk and asking your straight friend to stop screwing women and screw you instead, is a pretty good way to make your flatmate very uncomfortable, very quickly.

It was time to move on. There was no harm in accepting Yuuji's invitation. None at all.

"I suppose we could double date with these two?" He gestured to Keiji and Koutarou, who were still leaning on each other under the table.

"What d’ya like to do?" Yuuji said, his voice low and curious.

"I like films." Good one. Who _didn't_ like films? "I mean, I studied films, and I write screenplays."

"Yeah? What else?" Yuuji was moving his thumb and forefinger around his wrist, in a soothing, almost possessive fashion.

"Not much, to be honest." He moved his hands so their fingers were almost lacing, and they shared a grin. "I work a lot. What about you?"

"Well, I love my dog, as you can see. Most of the day I spend with him. I work evenings."

"Can I try and guess what you do?"

Yuuji brought his other hand onto the table, sandwiching Chikara's between them. "Hmm, interesting. Yeah, see if you can."

Chikara thought to himself for a moment, before blurting out, "Barman." He hadn't meant to say that, but Ryuu was hanging around on the peripheral of his thoughts, and it was the first job he thought of.

"Kind of. But not quite." He held up two fingers. "Two more guesses."

"I never agreed to only three!"

"Industry standard." He crossed one long leg over his knee, and slipped off his shoes. "Two. Guesses."

Chikara took a good, long look at him. There was an effortless grace to him, despite his casual clothing. He wasn't stupid, but not serious either. He was good looking, well-toned, and very touchy. Chikara squinted at him, trying to imagine him half naked, while also trying not to look like he was imagining him half naked.

"An entertainer of some kind? A dancer? Singer?"

"Wow, you are desperately trying not to suggest I'm a stripper, aren't you?"

He had been. Of course. "Nothing of the sort."

"I do perform, I suppose. But no, not on a stage."

Chikara sat back, and looked at Yuuji again. He was obviously in no rush to finish their lunch, lolling backwards in his chair, rubbing his Husky's stomach with a pointed foot. Chikara was still trying to work out where he might have met him before, and tried to imagine him in another setting.

Not a barman, although that was apparently a close guess; works in the evening, but not a performer. He slotted different identities over Yuuji, like paper dresses on a cut out doll, but couldn't seem to find anything which fit all the criteria.

Yuuji pushed his hair back off his face, eyeing Chikara with a grin. "Give up yet?"

There was something in his scraped back hair, the challenging expression on his face. It was frustrating how close he was to decoding not only his career, but where he'd seen him before.

"Want a clue?"

Chikara nodded, feeling on the precipice of some great reveal. His internal video camera was already rolling in the hope he could use this in the future.

Yuuji leaned forward, clasping his hand again. "Let's see. If I was at the cinema – watching one of your films, obviously – I might eat popcorn. What's your favourite flavour?"

"I always go for the sweet stuff. The really claggy toffee coating that gets caught in your teeth."

"You need a Vina Mayor for that. Bit of citrus to cut through the sweetness." The waitress brought over their food at the same moment, and he let go of Chikara's hand, and picked up his coffee to make space for the ramen bowls. He thanked her, and when he looked back at Chikara, he was still staring at him.

"I don't believe it."

He took a sip of the coffee, smirking. "What?"

"It's you." His hair was a different colour, longer too, but the discussion of wine was a cipher which had unlocked his memory. "The sommelier."

Keiji's ears pricked up at something, so he dropped a hand down to reassure him.

"Ah, you finally realised."

"To be fair to me, you look completely different without your clothes on. As in not in your suit." He groaned at himself. "That's not coming out right."

Yuuji was already laughing. "I know what you mean."

They started eating their noodles, companionable silence blanketing them. The dogs were still snoozing at their feet, Keiji's head resting on Koutarou's back. It had been a long time since Chikara had eaten with another human being. All his meals were shared with Keiji, usually.

In fact, the last time he remembered eating with anyone that wasn't a family member or a canine was that dinner meeting with Narahashi. Unfortunately, he wasn't successful in his bid, but she was complimentary about his screenplay, even if she didn't want to fund it, and gave him some names of other producers to try. He'd been lucky enough to find one, even though it was a small studio, and they wanted to use their own director. At least one of his original screenplays would finally see the light of day.

Yuuji had already finished, and was calling over the waitress again. "Can I get some gyoza, please? Oh, and a Sapporo. You want anything else?"

Chikara looked down at his still half-full bowl. "Urm, I'm all set thanks."

She slipped his bill on the table, and he dug in his pockets for some money before she returned. Chikara felt self conscious being the only one eating, taking tiny bites, aware of Yuuji's eyes on him.

Yuuji cleared his throat. "I want you to know. I haven't been following you, or anything. I just spotted you today."

Chikara finished his mouthful. "I never thought you were following me."

He looked down at the table, at the dogs, anywhere but at Chikara. If he didn't know better, he'd think he was flustered. "I thought you might think I ran into you on purpose. I wasn't even going to say hello. It really was an accident. Honest."

"I mean, I didn't think any of that before, but I'm slightly more sceptical now."

It was weird that he'd bumped into him, now he thought about it, but then again, Yuuji would probably think it was weird that he was writing a screenplay about the last time they met, too. Chikara had a sixth sense for when situations might come in useful for storytelling, and it was about the only thing he was any good at remembering. Which was probably how he'd forgotten what Yuuji looked like in the first place, even though he remembered everything he'd said.

"I... well, I _was_ talking to a work colleague about you. On the phone. When I bumped into you."

That explained the exclamation. "Ah. Manga trope. I get it now."

Yuuji nodded. "I'm a walking cartoon character, honestly. Rescuing stray dogs, walking into a crush, falling in love with the wrong man..." He stopped suddenly, and looked uncomfortable. "Anyway. I'm not a weird stalker. That's what I'm trying to say."

"I might believe that more if you could stop staring at me while I eat."

"Sorry! I can't quite believe it, that's all. It really is like a manga. Or a film."

Chikara choked a bit, banging his fist into his chest. There was no way Yuuji could know already, he wasn't teasing him. Chikara tried to calm down.

"You want me to..." Yuuji started getting up, but Chikara put his hands out.

"I’m fine." He took a drink, and after a final splutter, found he could breathe normally again.

"Speaking of films," Yuuji said, taking his hand back across the table, "What are you working on at the minute?" As Yuuji spoke, Chikara felt a pressing against his calf. Thinking it was Keiji, he checked under the table, only to see Keiji still curled into Koutarou's fur, and it was actually the back of Yuuji's foot brushing against him rhythmically.

It had been a long time since someone had flirted with him, and in the past, he'd never been very good at picking up on the clues even when they did. There was no mistaking this, though, surely? Unless Yuuji was just tremendously touchy with everyone.

Although earlier he did say he 'walked into a crush'; was he foolish for thinking he meant their earlier collision?

"Chikara? Are you uncomfortable with me touching you? You haven't said anything since I started rubbing your leg."

"No, no! That's – that's completely fine. I was... thinking."

"Oh good. I'm quite physical. Especially when I like someone. So if we were going to go on that date sometime, you should probably be prepared."

"They do say dogs are like their owners," Chikara said, nodding his head towards the two dogs under the table, who were still curled up together. As if sensing he was being watched, Keiji lifted his head to look at his owner, and then settled back down again, making a small whining noise.

"So. You want to talk about your latest work? Or is it a secret?"

He lifted Yuuji's hand and paused before kissing the back of it. "How about I tell you on that date?"

  
  


–

  
  


A year later, Chikara moves around his flat, picking up pieces of discarded paper. There're a few scenes he's sketched out, and now they need putting in the right order so he can storyboard it properly.

The first few he wrote he finds under a magnet on the fridge; there's the scene with a sommelier describing wine, another with him bumping into someone in the park; the next one he finds is the apology from the businessman, so he slots it between the other two.

He easily finds the scenes nearer the end, because they're under the lamp on Yuuji's side of the bed, where they always are. There's that one scene, he's unsure how many times Yuuji has read it, but the fondness he has for this scene means Chikara knows it won't need many rewrites.

*

**LIVING ROOM INTERIOR**

_Slow, melodic music plays._

_A and B are lying together on the sofa, kissing as a film plays in the background, no one paying it much attention. The kissing should be sleepy, familiar, and passionate, but not in a way that would lead to a sex scene._

_Enters Ace, who jumps onto B's lap._

_No audible dialogue, but we see A and B try and get Ace to jump down, with no luck._

_Music fades as Kashi enters._

ACE:  
Kashi! Come up here. It's ever so warm.

KASHI:  
I think you're interrupting something, Ace-san.

ACE:  
Nah, don't think so. There's a film on. Come on!

KASHI:  
I'll stay down here.

ACE:  
Please, Kashi. I bet it would mean a lot to A.

_Kashi reluctantly clambers up onto his owner's knee. His legs are all over the place, and he looks out of place and a bit uncomfortable. However, as Ace guessed, A is clearly delighted, and turns to smile at B._

ACE:  
I told you! Look at his face.

KASHI:  
I think that's more to do with B than anything else.

ACE:  
Aw c'mon, he loves you, too. He's not replaced you, ya know.

KASHI:  
I know.

ACE:  
I'm not worried! I know B still loves me, but he loves A as well now. Like how I love him and I love you, too.

KASHI:  
You love me?

ACE:  
Of course I do! You're my family now, right?

KASHI:  
I suppose.

ACE:  
One big, happy family.

KASHI:  
They certainly look happy, don't they?

ACE:  
Are ya kiddin'? My owner... he'd do anything for your human.

KASHI:  
I believe the feeling is very mutual.

ACE:  
Do you mean for them, or for us?

KASHI:  
_(after a long pause)_  
For us. I love you too, Ace-san.

*

He knows there must be more on his writing desk, including the first kiss, where the sommelier passionately slams the businessman up against a wall, disturbing the dogs sleeping in the corner. The day of their first kiss was also the day he'd decided on his script's selling point, the thing that had finally convinced Narahashi. The expression on Keiji's face, which had made him laugh uncontrollably, had fired something in his imagination; Keiji looked so resigned to the fact he would now be forced to be friends with this loud Husky that had been introduced into their peaceful life.

He never expected that second meeting to go so well with Narahashi, and he definitely hadn't expected to get a third meeting with one of her animation partners, and then to have a further slew of meetings with composers, artists and voice actors. He's terrified, but excited; it's already being heralded among critics as a '101 Dalmatians for the new millennium', and the script isn’t finished yet. He hasn't even decided on the main character's names, but he does know for sure they'll both be men.

Making an animated film is a long process. He knows he won't get to watch it for at least four years; the studio's told him that. It could take even longer than that, and then a few more months after the cinema release until they can get it on DVD and watch it at home.

But Chikara is fine with that, because, in years to come, both their dogs and their love story will live on forever, immortalised in animated form.

  
  
  
  
  


 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks again to Tsucchi, who was already beta-ing when we both realised I was using the character of Tsucchi who their AO3 account is named after. Kizmet.


End file.
